In the All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, Cork managed to outdo Dublin with a 0-26 to 0-21 win. Their performance, however, lacked the fervour and vitality that had secured their season just a month prior. While the match generally lacked exhilaration and excitement, its end was marked by Cork defending somewhat frantically, and Dublin coming to realise that they needed not to be as anxious as they had initially thought.
Throughout the second and third-quarters, Cork did ample to eliminate uncertainty concerning the match’s outcome, at one point establishing a nine-point lead early in the second half. However, disappointingly, this summer marked the first time that they were unable to score a goal. They were only able to create a few goal-scoring opportunities.
The only truly productive player from Cork’s attacking front line was Patrick Horgan. He managed to amass a total of 10 points, equalling TJ Reid’s record atop the all-time scorers list. Conversely, Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly, who were both replaced, only managed to add a point between them to the final tally.
After the Leinster final’s crushing defeat, Dublin managed to regroup and refocus themselves although their capabilities remained limited. Their highest scorer, Donal Burke, who is known as one of the country’s leading free takers, had an unfortunate match with a higher number of unsuccessful free attempts than successful ones, which unfortunately placed too much burden on Dublin. Responsibility eventually shifted to Sean Currie.
Memorably, Cork began to substitute their players halfway through the second half, leading to a disjointed performance. Dublin took advantage of this, making strong runs at Cork during the last ten minutes. The latter’s defence was in disarray, allowing Dublin to attempt more goals. Despite Cork’s disoriented defence, Dublin only had one potential goal, which was saved by Niall O’Leary, signalling the end of the panic.
Unlike the Leinster final, Dublin seemed to get into the swing of the game more easily and were not as pressured as they had been against Kilkenny. To their credit, passing was more accurate and they found themselves with more room to manoeuvre, especially at the start of the game.
Beginning with a superb start by Conor Burke as centrefield, Dublin and Cork matched each other’s scores in the initial 15 minutes of the game. A solo forward near the goal, Sean Currie, also made significant strides. Issues plaguing Cork’s game play, namely lack of focus and sloppiness seen during their previous encounter with Offaly, could still be felt, although their concentration did improve incrementally throughout the game. Cork applied pressure on numerous occasions on Dublin’s puck-outs, resulting in turnovers in Dublin’s half. Shane Barrett along with his flankers, Declan Dalton and Seamus Harnedy, posed a constant threat as he has been one of Cork’s most reliable forwards in this season.
Cork had been reliant on their inside for their wins against Limerick and Clare, yet the spark seemed missing this time. Connolly who was reportedly ill before the game against Offaly and had come off early in the second half at Tullamore, failed to score in this game. In the first half, he continued his unnoticeable presence, finding it hard to deal with the acute surveillance of Eoghan O’Donnell. But there was slight improvement in his performance in the second half despite not matching his usual standards seen in the Munster championship.
Horgan had a chance to score for Cork twice in the first half. Despite having ample time and space, on the first occasion he unwisely chose to perform a batted finish after being played in by Barrett. His efforts were foiled by O’Donnell’s well-timed interference. During the second chance, although Dublin’s defence succeeded in creating a scramble, Horgan held onto the ball and managed a point.
Cork first led the game at the 10-minute mark and lost the lead just two minutes later. They had a five-point lead going into half-time (0-15 to 0-10) and extended it to four unanswered points at the start of the second half. However, an eight-minute scoring drought hit Cork in the middle of the second half. The game, which seemed to be going predictably, took an unforeseen turn when Dublin’s bench introduced an element of surprise and the shift of O’Donnell to centrefield made a noticeable difference.
By the conclusion of the match, one team remained vanquished while two squads pondered on their potential for improved performance. The Cork team consisted of P. Collins, N. O’Leary, E. Downey, S. O’Donoghue, T. O’Mahony, C. Joyce, M. Coleman, D. Fitzgibbon, L. Meade (scoring 0-1), D. Dalton (accruing 0-6, including three frees), S. Barrett (contributing 0-2), S. Harnedy (collecting 0-2), P. Horgan (with the highest score of 0-10, including seven frees), alongside A. Connolly and B. Hayes (scoring 0-1). As the game progressed, substitutions were made including S. Kingston replacing Harnedy at the 49 minute mark, T. O’Connell for Meade, and G. Millerick for Fitzgibbon at 60 minutes, followed by R. O’Flynn (0-2) for Hayes at 61 minutes and C. Lehane for Connolly at 67 minutes.
On Dublin’s side, the team included S. Brennan, J. Bellew, E. O’Donnell, P. Smyth, C. Crummey (0-3), C. Donohoe, D. Gray, B. Hayes (0-2), C. Burke (registering 0-4), D. Sutcliffe, D. Burke (accumulating 0-3, including two frees), S. Currie (scoring 0-6, inclusive of three frees), along with D. Power, P. Crummey, and M. Grogan. Substitutions observed were R. Hayes switching with P. Crummey temporarily from the 44th to the 70+4 minute, P. Doyle (scoring 0-1) for Gray at 48 minutes, D. O’Dulaing for Grogan at 54 minutes, J. Madden replacing Donohoe at 60 minutes, and F. Whitely for B. Hayes at 64 minutes. The match was officiated by umpire Michael Kennedy hailing from Tipperary.